First Independent Mena Newspaper
The Alliance of Sahel States (AES), made up of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, officially unveiled its joint Security force on December 20, 2025, marking a significant step in deepening regional military cooperation. At a ceremony in Bamako on Saturday, Mali’s President General Assimi Goïta handed over the force’s flag, weapons and equipment, including combat […]
Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have officially launched a joint military force aimed at tackling Islamist insurgencies and cross-border insecurity, deepening their security cooperation outside the framework of West Africa’s ECOWAS bloc. The new formation, called the United Force of the Alliance of Sahel States (FU-AES), was unveiled on Dec 20 at an airbase in […]
Burkina Faso and Niger have welcomed the adoption by the historic UN Security Council of Resolution 2797, which enshrines, within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty, the Morocco-proposed autonomy plan as a serious, credible, and lasting basis for achieving a solution to the Sahara issue. This welcome was expressed by the two countries’ Foreign Ministers, Karamoko […]
Niger has welcomed the adoption on October 31 of UN Security Council Resolution 2797, which endorses Morocco’s Autonomy Initiative as the basis for resolving the Sahara issue. The supportive position was expressed by Niger’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bakary Yaou Sangaré, following talks with Moroccan FM Nasser Bourita, in Rabat on Thursday. Niamey reaffirmed its […]
Intelligence agencies from Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso are reportedly set to release names of senior Nigerian political figures allegedly financing terrorism and aiding arms trafficking in West Africa, according to multiple regional sources. The unprecedented move follows coordinated security operations under the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), a bloc formed by the three countries […]
Senegal’s Minister of Health, Ibrahima Sy, announced on Sunday, 29 September 2025, that a recent outbreak of Rift Valley fever (RVF) in the northern Saint-Louis region has resulted in seven deaths. Speaking at an epidemic control meeting, Sy said health authorities are working closely with the livestock department to strengthen preventive and control strategies to […]
Niger’s Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine delivered a scathing address at the United Nations General Assembly, accusing France of actively undermining his country’s sovereignty through what he called a “sneaky and subversive destabilization plan.” Zeine alleged that since French troops were expelled from Niger in 2023, Paris has been “training, financing, and equipping terrorists” […]
Russia and Ethiopia have officially signed a long-anticipated nuclear cooperation agreement, marking a major milestone in Moscow’s growing strategic engagement across Africa. The deal, finalized at a nuclear energy forum by Ethiopian Electric Power Company and Russia’s state-owned Rosatom, outlines the construction of Ethiopia’s first nuclear power plant. The agreement includes a comprehensive roadmap for […]
Military cooperation between Morocco and Niger that covers a range of activities, including training, operational readiness of the forces, military healthcare, and the exchange of visits and expertise, was reviewed at a meeting in Rabat Tuesday between Inspector General of the Royal Armed Forces and Commander of the Southern Zone, Lieutenant General Mohammed Berrid, and […]
A recent surge in attacks by the Islamic State in the Sahel Province (IS Sahel) has left more than 127 civilians dead in Niger’s Tillabéri region, according to a latest report by Human Rights Watch (HRW). The watchdog group described the killings — carried out in at least five separate incidents since March — as […]